Three times former Natinal Fiddle Champion, Alistair
McCulloch is one of the busiest and best-known fiddlers in Scotland and is
in constant demand as a performer, teacher, adjudicator and composer. He
studied music at the University of Strathclyde where he graduated with first
class honours in 1998.

As well as having a highly successful solo career, Alistair
is lead fiddler in the band ‘Coila' and recently produced the band's third
album. His annual tour of the Scottish Highlands has become an eagerly
awaited event in the Scottish Music calendar with his high energy concert
performances and infectious humour.

Alitair has performed for Her Majesty the Queen at Balmoral
is the fiddler on the soundtrack of the hit BBC children's programme,
Balamory.

Aonghais Grant
Sen. with Paul Connolly

Well known
left handed fiddler Aonghais Grant from Fort William is
a regular performer at the Niel Gow festival and we are very glad that he
has agreed to perform for us in 2007 - his fourth festival!

Christine Kydd & Just Singin’ Birnam

Christine is
one of Scotland's great singers. A renowned interpreter and champion of the
Scots song tradition, she has performed and recorded with many others to
produce some of Scotland's finest and often award-winning harmony vocal
sounds. But at the heart of her musical life has always been the art of the
solo singer, her powerful performances having graced the stage with the
likes of Capercaillie, Christy Moore and the Tannahill Weavers.

Collaborations
with the finest of musicians include work with master fiddler Alasdair
Fraser, Andy Thorburn, Jack Evans, Norman Chalmers, Frankie Armstrong, Wendy
Weatherby, Corrina Hewat, as soloist and ensemble member in the
award-winning concerts 'My Ain Countrie' and 'Burns and a' That', as well as
Glasgow's Celtic Connections festival.

Douglas Lawrence with Maureen Rutherford

Douglas
Lawrence hails from Buckie in Banffshire where he was born in 1957. He
started playing the violin at the age of nine when given the instrument by
his grandfather. At school he was given violin tuition from Steve Merson,
who then introduced him to Hector MacAndrew - one of the greatest exponents
of Scottish fiddle playing. Douglas went on to become Hector's most
distinguished pupil, winning every major fiddle competition, including the
International Gathering Of The Clans in 1977 and the Golden Fiddle in 1979.

Douglas excelled equally as a composer, his compositions winning at the Elgin,
Banchory and Kirriemuir festivals. "Arguably the finest performer of the
music of the North East today, Douglas is equally brilliant in interpreting
the music of the bagpipe on violin.

Douglas Montgomery with Brian Cromarty

Douglas
Montgomery is the fiddling half of great Orkney duo Saltfishforty - the
other half is singer guitarist Brian Cromarty . An internationally acclaimed
fiddler, Douglas has toured Scotland, USA and France with the Smoking Stone
Band. His playing slides easily from gutsy tune to inspired counter melody.
An itinerant fiddle teacher in Orkney for eight years, Douglas has released
two albums and toured Canada with his pupils.

Duncan Dyker

Duncan Dyker
is perhaps best-known locally as Leader of the Inverness Fiddlers, but is
also a fine solo fiddler and member of local group Birl. He has been several
times National Mod champion. Although his playing is grounded in excellent
teaching in both fiddle and pipes in his home town of Huntly (he was a pupil
of the late Bill Hardie) , his style is affirmatively Highland, as
demonstrated in his new CD Collectors' Items. Duncan is also an adjudicator,
instructor and fiddle maker as well as a Principal Teacher of Computing.

Dunkeld & Birnam Strathspey & Reel Society

Dating back to
circa 1940, the Dunkeld & District Strathspey & Reel Society have continued
to perform at many local events throughout Perthshire for the last 60+
years. Performing Traditional Scottish Music, our main aim is to contribute
to the local entertainment calendar, while helping local groups and
organisations to enjoy our music while raising funds for their local
community activities.

George Smith

From
Aberlemno in Angus, George has been enjoying playing the fiddle since he was
nine. A
former junior fiddle champion, he has been successful in Senior Open
and Invitation Fiddle competitions, including the Glenfiddich, where he was
runner-up in 2005.

A second year violin student on the BMus Performance
Course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, George
is a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and Camerata
Scotland. He enjoys playing traditional music very much and is looking
forward to to taking part in this year’s Neil Gow Festival.

Iain Fraser & "TRAD"

Iain Fraser
arrived later than some to the idea of performing but definitely made an
entrance with a
wonderfully engaging style on stage that blends the passion of the tradition
with the rythms of the dance.

Iain grew up
surrounded by music and now tours regularly throughout Scotland and North
America with a large repertoire that ranges from older 18th century tunes to
new compositions inspired by his family and surroundings in his adopted home
in the Scottish Borders.

James Gray

Born into a
family actively involved in the local Scottish Country Dance scene, James
Gray grew up surrounded by a love of Scottish music and
culture.
He started piano lessons at the age of five, initially being taught by his
grandmother, who played for his parents' dance classes.

During the
last 15 years, he has played as a solo musician at dance schools in the US,
Europe and New Zealand, and was the director of the first RSCDS youth
school. The Host of the Air was his first ensemble release, which featured
many of his compositions, and was widely acclaimed as the most innovative
Scottish Country Dance CD to date. In December 2006 he released his first
solo piano album Piano Dance.

He currently
plays in the dance bands Scottish Measure and Rantin' Rovin' Reelin', and in
a duo with Keith Smith. Scottish Measure released its first CD, a first dram
in 2002. Rantin' Rovin' Reelin' has been well received for its new and
exciting sound in Europe and also at the show 'Dancing Forth' in the 2004
and 2005 Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. James's accompaniment style is very
suited to the fiddle and hence it is no surprise that he and Keith Smith are
in great demand as a duo.

Outside of
dancing, James also plays with champion Scottish fiddler Gregor Borland and
on the accordion with the folkie collective Bothy Tam's Vintage Steam Engine
Rally. James features on Gregor Borland's CD Bowstroke, which was released
in September 2006.

Marie Fielding with Finlay Macdonald & Kevin Mackenzie

Marie Fielding
has been playing the fiddle since the age of 9. Born in Edinburgh 1967, she
was given her first fiddle from a family friend Margaret Lawson, violinist
with the R.S.N.O. Marie taught herself to play
until lessons became available at school. Although she initially studied
classical violin, her passion was traditional music.

Marie began
playing professionally at the age of 15 with her brother Owen and Craig
McCallum, playing at ceilidhs, concerts and Irish dance classes. At 17,
Marie joined Jim Johnstone and his band and travelled all over Scotland and
abroad for 12 years. During this time, she began to write her own tunes. A
lot of the influences came from pipe music and gaelic song. Marie has
composed over 40 tunes and plans to release a book of her compositions later
in the year.

Marie has also
performed with John Carmichael, Neil Barron Band, Black Rose Ceilidh Band,
Fiddlers Five, Maggie MacInnis, Manus Mcguire, Finlay MacDonald Band, Phil
Cunningham, Bobby MacLeod, Robert MacLeod,Tom Orr and many more. As well as
recording more than 30 albums, countless radio programmes and T.V, Marie has
performed at Fiddle 2004, Neil Gow Festival 2005 & 2006, Celtic Connections,
Burns and Gaels Tour, Shetland Festival, Mull Festival and at many Folk
Festivals over the years.

Patsy Reid

Patsy Reid is
from Knapp in Perthshire and despite her young age, she has a great amount
of experience in performing and teaching both traditional and classical
music. She remains the youngest
ever
winner of the prestigious Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship and released her
debut solo album “With Complements” in 2002. At 17, Patsy was a finalist in
the original BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award and is now a
member of the band Breabach who won a Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections
2005. Breabach have recently recorded their debut album with well-known
producer Donald Shaw, which is due to be released in November 2006 by
Vertical Records. The band has also recently been nominated for best Up and
Coming Artist at the Scots Trad Music Awards 2006.

Patsy
graduated form Strathclyde University in 2004 with a 1st class Honours BA
degree in Applied Music, specialising in performance and album production.
She continued her studies in Manchester at the Royal Northern College of
Music and after two years gained a Post Graduate Certicicate of Education
with Specialist String Teaching and a Post Graduate Diploma in Violin
Performance.

Patsy is a
tutor at the award-winning Taransay Fiddle Camp and Alasdair Fraser's fiddle
course @ Sabhal Mohr Ostaig. Despite a busy schedule of performing and
teaching, she also teaches music full time at Kingussie High School.

Pete Clark with Wendy Weatherby & Jim Leighton

Pete now lives
in Perthshire not far from the birth places of Niel Gow and Robert
Mackintosh. The beautiful Perthshire landscape has been the inspiration for
many of Pete's compositions to be found on two great Scottish fiddle CDs -
The Birnam Oak and Sycamore.

Pete's
debut CD 'Fiddle Case' was chosen as one of 1996's albums of the year on BBC
Scotland's 'Travelling Folk'. His top selling CD 'Even Now' features the
music of Niel Gow whilst 'Mackintosh at Murthly' features the compositions
of Robert Mackintosh. His new album 'Now & Then' showcases some of Pete's
compositions alongside a few gems from those of the great Scottish fiddle
composers, Niel Gow, Willam Marshall and James Scott Skinner.

In addition to
his highly successful solo career, Pete has been a member of several notable
bands including Heritage and Smeddum and is currently a member of the highly
successful Benachally Ceilidh Band and the Niel Gow Ensemble.

Sarah is a
freelance performer and tutor based in Manchester, and is a graduate of the
Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Manchester. She
maintains a high level of musical versatility, performing professionally
both as a
fiddler
and percussionist. She is the first student to study folk music at the RNCM
at postgraduate level, where she is taught by Catriona Macdonald. Sarah
plays with The Maerlock, fast emerging as one of the UK's top new folk
bands. Other highlights from her diverse performing career include playing
percussion with The Hallé Orchestra, appearing as a soloist with the New
English Orchestra, and playing fiddle with a trio for Music in Hospitals.
She is also the Artistic Director for Manchester Ceilidh.

Olly is an
extremely versatile musician and pianist. In addition to his work with The
Maerlock and Sarah Stuart he also performs frequently as part of a duo on
the Live Music Now programme, and with the notorious ‘The Good The Bad And
The Funky.’ As a jazz pianist he has performed with Andy Sheppard, Bob
Mintzer and Matthew Herbert, and as a classical musician he has worked as an
accompanist for the Hallé Youth Ensembles and the Northern Ballet School. An
avid arranger, Olly initiated and directed the adventurous jazz-folk
crossover project The Maerlock Big Band, a funk-ceilidh experience truly
like no other. Olly is a Masters graduate of the RNCM.

Tayside Young Fiddlers

Tayside Young
Fiddlers - a band of young people with a shared enthusiasm for traditional,
mainly Scottish, fiddle music.

Based in
Dundee, on the sunny east coast of Scotland, they welcome members from all
around the hinterland of Angus, Perth & Kinross and Northeast Fife.

Wendy Weatherby with James Ross

Since
graduating from the RSAMD in 1983, Wendy’s interest in jazz and folk music
has led her to play
and sing at festivals throughout the UK, Europe, the USA and the former
Soviet Union.

She has worked
and recorded with many top Scottish musicians including Hamish Moore, Billy
Jackson, The Pearlfishers, Michael Marra and Phil Cunningham and has two
solo albums to her credit.

Wendy has
hosted many workshops in both cello and singing. She is regularly featured
in Dr Fred Freeman’s illustrated lectures on Robert Burns, performing
alongside Marc Duff (ex-Capercaillie) and John Morran (Deaf Shepherd) and is
in demand as singer and cellist at events worldwide.